A utility provider, such as a gas, electricity, or water provider, may have a large number of control, measuring, and sensing devices installed in the field in order to control transmission and distribution of the product, measure, and record product usage, and detect problems. Such devices may include water, gas, or electrical meters, remotely controlled valves, flow sensors, leak detection devices, and the like. Utility meters may include or be connected to wireless communication devices (nodes) that communicate through wireless communications with other communication devices to effect remote meter reading.
A traditional Advanced Meter Reading (AMR) system allows for only one-way communication between a node and another network device, such as a mobile (“drive-by”) collector. The node periodically emits a signal (herein also referred to as an “AMR beacon”) containing information identifying the node as well as a usage reading detected by the node. The node in a conventional AMR system does not receive any communication from any device.
AMR networks evolved into Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) networks, which are characterized by two-way communication between a node and another network device or devices. In a typical, fixed AMI configuration, an AMI system may comprise a central host capable of connecting via wired and/or wireless networking infrastructures to a number of communication nodes, each node providing network communications for one or more connected metering devices, control devices, sensor devices, or the like. The AMI system may further include data collection hubs, repeaters, gateways, and the like. Despite the advantages presented by AMI networks over AMR networks (such as robustness), many utility providers continue to use AMR networks because the costs of completely replacing an AMR network with an AMI network are significant. It would be desirable to have a system that is more easily migrated from AMR to AMI.